


The Rise of Princess Zelda

by Holly55



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Warriors
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, I put mature just for safety, but just in case, it's probably not gonna be too bad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-08-11 15:43:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20156029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Holly55/pseuds/Holly55
Summary: Inspired by George R.R. Martin's series "A Song of Ice and Fire", a cross-over fic of the GoT-esque scenarios and ideas but put in the Zelda universe. The story takes place in the Breath of the Wild map, with all its races and locations, but uses the Hyrule Warriors characters for convenience of character swapping and use of all characters across multiple games. A jumble of two of my favorite series, hopefully written well enough. Enjoy!





	1. The Betrothal

**Author's Note:**

> *CREDIT FOR THE USE OF GERUDO LANGUAGE GOES TO: http://va-eheniv.conlang.org/gerudolang1.html A wonderfully composed site with so many references on Gerudo language.  
*Note, this website was made well before Breath of the Wild and does not use the Gerudo phrases from that game, HOWEVER, I will be using a combination of the 10 or so phrases we know from BotW in addition to the language in this website. 
> 
> Lastly, I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this series, nor do I claim any relation to Game of Thrones, or any of the series of A Song of Ice and Fire. This is merely an inspired work of fiction. Thank you!

Hooves batted the ground in hard strides, kicking up dust and clumps from the sandy ground below. There was a silent drum to their march, but one so familiar to the Princess Zelda who rode forefront. Dressed in a light fabric dress of dusty pink, so that the hot, hollow wind could reach her fair skin in the burning sunlight. She was what most would call the epitome of Hyrule’s beauty, her shining, golden hair was tied in a single braid at the bottom, allowing for most of it to drape at her shoulders. At the crown of her head were two singular braids that tied together at the back, keeping the hair from her azure blue eyes. Her wrists were adorned with two matching silver bracelets that hugged from just before her hands to the middle of her forearm, cut to the shape of the royal family’s sigil of Hyrule. Even the sandals she wore had silver sigils on the tops of her feet, laced with a think pink silk up her calf to match her appearance. She was to look her best on this day, the day she was to meet her betrothed.

Impa, a thick armed woman with striking white hair tied up in a single knot at the back of her head, strode up next to Zelda, who did not meet her gaze. Impa was a staunch woman, always very gruff and to the point, and that was precisely what Zelda liked about her so much. There was never a time where she did not trust her council, or second guess her action. However, Impa was a cautious woman, which proved to be useful most of the time, but annoying elsewise.

“Your Highness,” Impa began, her horses’ gait now matching Zelda’s own.

“We are getting close now. The remainder of the party should stop to camp, lest they get too close. It will not be seen as a kind gesture to arrive with such a large entourage.” Impa was right. From the stories Zelda had heard, the Gerudo were not a gracious people, and especially not to outsiders. Their way of life is much different than those who live within the walls of Hyrule’s kingdom. While the Gerudo desert was still a part of Hyrule’s lands, most considered the vast wasteland that of its own, as no man had ever crossed it and live to tell the tale.

“Yes,” Zelda replied, afraid to look at Impa now. She did not want to show fear, especially to her. She had been a teacher to Zelda for a lifetime, and while she had been fearful in front of Impa before, now was not the time to give into weakness.

“Tell them to fall back. We cannot offend them, or…” Zelda paused, not ungracefully.

“Or him.”

The guards that had surrounded the young woman had fallen behind to stay well away from Zelda. The Gerudo were a strong and proud people, and any sign of offense or distrust was viewed in absolute disgust. This often led to death on the spot, and not just of those causing the offense. Zelda had heard stories of those who had angered the Gerudo before, and more often than not she heard them end with egregious fights, deaths of both parties, and the feasting of flesh well after the sport was done. It terrified her to her core that she was to marry one of these ferocious beings.

If he was pleased with her, that is. 

~

“Your Highness,” Impa spoke aloud, interrupting the outward silence, and the narrative in Zelda’s head.

“Please remember what I’ve told you. The Gerudo are a race made up almost entirely of women, with one man born every one hundred years,” As fictitious as it sounded to Zelda, she knew it to be true. The Gerudo were a solitary people, traveling out of the desert only to lure men to bed, and then kill them once they were with child. They did not bear sons, not unless the year was upon them. Once a son was born, they would openly sacrifice the mother to their God, if she was not killed on the birthing bed herself. This was a tribute to their God of Sons, for blessing them with their next King, and to the Mother Goddess, allowing more to be born through the following cycles, or so she had heard.

“It is extremely important that you do not speak unless specifically spoken to, and that you do not look away from him.” Impa finished coldly.

“I know,” Zelda replied, trembling inside but hoping to keep her composure. In the distance she could hear the faint shouts and cries of what could only be a large group of Gerudo arriving to meet her. Impa called to a halt in the small group of five they presented, Zelda included. The three guardsmen that had followed stopped abruptly, and stayed a minimum of three feet behind the two women. Zelda felt as though she could faint from her nerves, or perhaps the sun, if her rapid heartbeat did not drop her from the horse first. The galloping of hooves could be felt now, and the cries and shouts were getting much louder. In the distance, Zelda could see the shape of three horses, then five, then ten, then twenty, then perhaps more than she could count before the horde was upon her.

A beast of a man, with dark skin, large features, and long, flowing red hair approached first on a horse that could only be described as a beast of a man. Zelda, surprisingly, had noticed his horse first, however. It was no ordinary stallion, easily twice the size of a normal adult male, or perhaps more. The man atop it was no ordinary man either. Zelda knew the Gerudo were a large race, but she did not know exactly _how_ large until now. He was easily eight or nine hands high, and his rather unnerving appearance did not help him seem any less tall.

“Kalsk!” He called in a large, booming voice, and he and the forefront of the horde stopped. There were three almost equally tall women riding just behind the man, looking equally as gruff. The rest of his group paraded around behind them, silent for the most part, but still calling the occasional ‘yip’s and muttering to each other in snickers and low tones, speaking their own foreign language that Zelda had trouble understanding. The man’s horse shook its head and stomped rather roughly at the ground, snorting in frustration at the sudden halt. For a long time no one spoke, but the large man took his horse’s hair in hand, and walked right up in front of Zelda, starring at her with large, fiery eyes. Zelda made it a point to look at his face, but show no sign of negativity. She could see something within his face; a feeling perhaps. She did not see anger, or disgust, or lust for murder. There was something different there, and she was curious to know what it was. He starred at her for what felt like hours; though it may have been only just a few seconds. Suddenly, almost as quickly as he rode up, he spurred his horse with a grunt and galloped off, his horde of Gerudo women screaming what Zelda could only relate to as war cries behind him.

“Was that it?” She asked, still watching them ride into the horizon, heat waves blurring her vision of them the farther they got.

“For now,” Impa replied, beginning to turn her horse around to face the guards behind them.

“Come, we must ride back to the rest. They’ll need to know he has agreed.”

“Agreed to what?” Zelda finally looked at Impa, trying not to show what could only be described as fear in her eyes.

“The betrothal. You two are now to wed.”


	2. In Front of You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link and his partner venture out to perform their daily tasks as Hyrule Guardsmen. What else is new?

There was a chilling wind that whipped all around the golden haired boy, making his bones ache and freezing his cheeks with a bright red flush. He climbed each rung of the ladder carefully, taking each step with caution and making sure his hands were firmly placed before continuing. One slip on the freezing poles was all he needed to plummet to the ground below and shatter every fiber of his being, and that would be the end of him. The tips of his pointed, Hylian ears stung with each blast of the freezing air, and it was almost too much for him to continue, though he had no choice. This was part of his duty as an official Royal Hylian guard. He had to attend to all matters of the realm, regardless of how perilous or difficult they may be. He just wished he were somewhere _warmer_ today.

“Link,” A voice called from above, over the wind in his ears. Link looked up, pausing on the ladder and squeezing his eyes shut at the flecks of snow that hit his face at this new angle.

“Hurry up! We ‘ave more towers to check after this. We can’t stall ‘ere!” Link grit his teeth as he resumed his climb, already bothered with his new companion. It was customary for Royal guards to travel in duos. It was for the safety of each other as much as it was for the comfort of the citizens. Travelling the lands of Hyrule alone was not as safe as it had once been, especially since the newest Queen had taken the throne. Inside the walls of Hyrule were about as packed as they had always been, of course, however the crowds seemed…different now. They were no longer the happy shop keepers that called to the masses over their fresh bread. The children in the streets did not play games or climb the broken stones in the high walls. It even became a rare sight to see women in their house windows calling to each other from across the clotheslines to gossip and chat. Link did not know what had happened to the people, but he knew that it had all started around the time of Cia’s rule. He had only been a squire then, but now, as a fully-fledged member of the Royal Guard, he had insight.

Once he reached the top of the ladder, Link climbed onto the frozen stone floor of the Hebra tower, and stood up to meet his companion face to face. His royal blue guard scarf flapped in the high winds, and reached up to wrap it one more time around his neck so the end did not flail wildly.

“There y’are lad,” The man beside him smiled,

“You’re gonna’ ‘ave to work on climbing faster, else I’m gonna’ start leavin’ y’behind,” The man gave a hearty laugh and clapped him chummily on the shoulder, though Link did not care much for his partner’s japes. He had always thought that Grimms was nice enough, and surely the man never meant any harm, but Link never liked how even in jests he always found a way to get under his skin. It was just his luck to be paired up with him today, and on tower watch most of all. Although, Link counted himself lucky, as Grimms loved the sound of his own voice more than he enjoyed a day off, so Link did not have to feel pressured to answer any question he posed.

“Right, so go on then,” Grimms spoke again, turning around to the pedestal standing before the two.

There was an open, glowing blue square within the middle of it, pulsing with light that cut right through the blinding white snow. Link stepped up, and pulled a matching square stone out of his hip pouch. When he touched the stone on the back it glowed bright orange, and the pattern around the edge of the matching piece pulsed with knowing energy. It made an interesting sound that echoed through the wind, out to the tops of the snowy mountains surrounding the edge of the horizon in every direction. It sounded as though it were scanning for something, until Link pushed the piece into the pedestal, where it fit perfectly within the cut stone. While he waited for the technology to work, Link took a moment to scan the scenery around him as best he could. Hebra was a cold and unforgiving place within Hyrule’s realm; however it was a beautiful sight when you got the chance to look at it. From this height, Link could see the tops of mountains that most citizens could only see half of. The herds of thick haired horses galloping below them and the occasional moose walking solitary along the edges of mountains where they met the snowy earth were a good reminder for Link to count himself lucky that he did not have to visit these parts often.

The glowing pattern changed suddenly from orange to blue, as the piece connected with the pedestal, and it shone in a dull blue hue, before the top of the stone piece revealed a screen with a map of Hyrule on the front. It was amazing technology that Link had learned about in training, and one of these tablets was given to every guard pair that left Hyrule on scouting duties. It was gossiped about in town whenever guards were sent beyond the walls to explore and townsfolk got a glimpse of one. They say it has all the secrets of Hyrule locked within its data, and that it has locator for every guard in Hyrule. Some even say it knows the true whereabouts of the lost Princess Zelda, and that she is still alive somewhere in Hyrule’s lands, but Link had never seen any sort of indication of any of these rumors.

Suddenly, the tablet made another noise, and the screen blinked closed in front of him. The tablet and pedestal alike fell back into its orange hue, and the tablet rose up from within its place, as if to present itself to Link’s hand. Grimms smiled, and spoke again.

“Good, nothin’ ‘ere to worry about. C’mon, let’s head down ‘fore we freeze t’death,” Link took the tablet in hand, and shoved it back into the hip pouch on his green tunic and followed the man back down the ladder. He took each step slower than when he came up, trying very, very hard to concentrate on not falling as he looked down to grab each rung.

~

The ride back was much easier than the ride up, as the horses were much more comfortable going _away_ from the snowy hills than towards them. Link was busy in his thoughts as Grimms unrolled the map atop his spotted black mare, and hummed thoughtfully as he looked for the next closest tower. Link adjusted his scarf back to its original wrap, allowing his neck to breath a bit better as the air got warmer and warmer with every few yards they rode. The end of his scarf, adorned with the royal Hyrulean sigil in yellow and red thread, hung loosely from the side of his own brown mare. Epona, she had been named when gifted to him, after the Goddess of mares in the old time, before the Goddess Hylia. Link had never kept faith with the old God’s and Goddess’, but he liked the name well enough and, after being partnered with her for a while, thought the named suited her. Epona was a strong horse, well-tempered and loyal, which made her his perfect companion. Better than Grimms, for that matter.

“Aha! We’ll go ‘ere next,” The man pointed to a spot on the map in front of him, as if to show Link, even though he could not see it.

Without speaking a word, Link spurred Epona forward, and Grimms followed, galloping now in front of the younger man. They rode for a short while in silence, heading down the path and occasionally passing a few citizens with cargo-donkeys, or riding horses that curtly praised the two men as they passed. Grimms always replied to those that called out to them, giving thanks and expression gratitude, which Link thought was decent enough of him; though he wished he would not take the time to thank _every_ courtesy. Though, that was Grimms, the man of many friends, and many more stories.

Grimms, putting it nicely, was a very stout man, close to retiring age for a man of the royal guard. He kept a clean shaven face, to keep with the dress code, but he always talked about how before he was anointed he could grow a beard so thick that when his son was a babe he could hide in it for hours and he’d never know. Link was sure that was an exaggeration, but Grimms always swore to Hylia herself it was true. The man probably would look better with a beard, Link always thought, as he had a rough chin that looked too short for his face and a smile too big for his cheeks. However, Grimms was always a nice man, and Link often felt bad for faulting him so much, but he could be careless when it came to feeling as though something were not quite right and never seemed to be able to sense danger even when it was right in front of him.

Link had not expected the ride to take as long as it was, and he could tell that Epona was getting tired and irritable from the journey. He pat her neck softly, hoping to calm her so they could continue for just a bit longer, but he was getting tired too, and his legs would soon be aching from riding all day, even with his seasoned training. Grimms yawned loudly on Link’s left, where he had fallen back again, and let go of the reins to stretch his arms above his head. They were riding between two large pillars of stone now, and the road was getting narrow. Link knew they were coming upon a bridge soon, as he had travelled these parts before, however it was hard to see just when the bridge was coming up due to the high cliffs of the mountain road they were travelling on. There were many twists and turns in the path, and Link had to remain extra vigilant to steer Epona in the right direction.

“Link,” Grimms said suddenly,

“A bridge is comin’ up this bend, I’ll go on in front, n’you can follow behind,” Link nodded dutifully, slowing Epona down so that Grimms fell in front of him in stride. The bridge came upon them just moments later, although, it appeared less intact than it had the last time Link had seen it. It was missing a few ropes holding the railing and boards together, and the rock pillar between the two sides of the bridge was missing the ropes entirely, leaving both sides of the circular piece open to the ridge below them. Grimms paused, and stopped his horse’s stride.

“I think s’best if we go one at a time,” He said cautiously. His mare snorted and shook her head, clearly uncomfortable with the sight before her.

“I don’ think she’d hold us both.” For once, Link agreed immediately with the man, and stuck to his halted position. He did not reply to Grimms, which was the usual between the two, or anyone Link partnered with, and he ought to be used to it by now. However, his nerves seemed to get the better of him, and he cleared his throat before calling back again,

“Alright, lad?” With no reply ever still, Grimms kicked his horse in the sides of her belly, and she began to move carefully forward.

The bridge looked unstable, but able to carry one horse at a time, no doubt. The only thing that truly bothered Link was how it had gotten so dilapidated in the first place. No one ever came around these parts unless they were travelling to the Rito village, and if they were, what reason would they have for ruining the bridge? It was the quickest path there and back, and no one would have any reason to destroy it that Link could think of. Perhaps there was a bad storm? Yes, that seemed the most likely answer. However, there hadn’t been any reports that talked of bad weather in Hyrule lately, they were much too far down the mountain path for the snow storms to have reached this bridge. Regardless, Link made a note to report it back to the appropriate officials at once. Local repairs such as this were placed in the hands of the royal guardsmen as well, since it concerned the safety of the citizens of Hyrule. However, it would take some time for them to trek out here from Hyrule castle, and it may be some time before the repairs finish. Who knows what could happen between now and then…

Link’s ears perked at a sudden crack, and he looked concernedly towards Grimms on the bridge. His horse had stopped, and whinnied nervously, trying to back pedal off of the wood planks quite obviously beginning to creak below her hooves. Grimms ‘shh’ed her and eased her back down into a calm state, and then looked back at Link with a weary smile.

“Got ‘er under control, lad, don’t y’-“ The words were taken right out of Grimms mouth as an arrow lodged deep into his flesh, just below his right shoulder. Where had it come from? Who fired it? And why?

A cry of pain replaced any and all previous thoughts Link had as he watched helplessly from the opening of the bridge. Grimms’ mare neighed loudly, startled from the shot, and barreled down the rest of the bridge, causing it to shake furiously the entire way. Grimms fell forward and latched onto his saddle, gripping it tightly with his right hand as his left tried desperately to hold at the throbbing pain in his shoulder, trying not to fall off his mare with how wild she was running. Epona reared back on her hind legs, and neighed at all of the sudden excitement as Link tried to make sense of it all and call out to Grimms; but as he watched in horror as he saw another arrow fly, he found that no sound could escape his mouth, no matter how hard he wanted to yell. The arrow hit Grimms just as his horse was passing over the stone pillar separating the two bridges, and Link could hardly believe his eyes when he saw it pierce directly through his throat, effectively knocking him off his horse and flinging him into the pits of the ridge below. As Grimms’ mare trampled wildly over the second bridge and disappeared into the cliff face ahead, Link could only sit atop Epona and stare at the open edge where Grimms had fallen, mouth agape, and heart pumping.

He whipped Epona around and kicked in the sides of her belly, starting off in a quick gallop back up the road from whence they came. Link did not have much time to think, but he knew that back up the path was the safest solution to this problem, and he would have to take what he could get. However, a pang of guilt shot through his chest between the rapid beats of his heart as his adrenaline started to die off. Why couldn’t he do something? That answer was not so simple, Link knew that, but how was he to explain this to the Queen? He couldn’t even retrieve Grimms’ horse, and Link had to think for a moment that that was almost the worst of it.

One last glance back at the rock walls he was now beginning to exit was all it took for Link to find an answer to at least one of his questions. The assailant was standing right in the middle of the road now, watching Link ride off. What he was doing, Link was not so sure, but one thing was for sure as he turned to face the oncoming path, and spurred Epona into a full sprint.

This was no accident.


	3. You Understand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the wedding day upon her, Zelda finds herself coming to terms with something within herself. Where will this lead the Princess, now a Queen, into next?

It was traditional of the Gerudo to accept only women into the walls of their city for protective reasons. If men entered the walls, the Gerudo run the risk of foreign invasion, and the cycle of Kings could be broken. To make sure that never happened, the women became the warriors, the teachers, the healers, and all else that needed doing. The mothers, or Niladi’s, were considered the rulers of Gerudo until the King was born, and they were to raise him until he came of age to rule for himself, at about sixteen years. Then, they become what Zelda could relate as his royal guards, called Guard Mothers, and a select three of all mothers raising him were chosen as his Blood Mothers, or Tanadi. Zelda had learned all of this from Impa, as she spoke the Gerudo language well, and could relay information to Zelda in the common tongue.

This was what she was doing now, as Zelda sat upon two colorful pillows below her knees, her silky, golden hair being brushed out behind her and down her back by two of her maids than rode into the city walls with her. Impa had told the Gerudo women they were her handmaidens, and they permitted they enter but must stay separate from her until the day she wed Ganondorf. Zelda had learned his name quickly, as it was spoken frequently among the Guard Mothers, and in high esteem as it sounded. She was not necessarily scared of these women after being brought into their city; however it did not stop her from being intimidated by them nonetheless. They were much larger women than any Zelda had ever seen before in Hyrule. She was easily only half their height, while the tallest she had observed had stood easily next to Ganondorf.

“Your Highness,” Impa had spoken again, beginning another sentence when Zelda stopped her.

“Please, Impa, call me Zelda.” Impa paused, and sighed in partial irritation.

“Pardon me, _Zelda_,” She said in exaggeration,

“But you realize I will have to address you by your new formal title soon, correct?” Zelda did not reply, but lowered her gaze to the floor. The handmaidens did not say a word, however exchanged looks over the pairs’ heads as one lifted a bowl of steaming water scented with fragrant oils to carry it over to a small shelf, and the other stood from brushing out strands of golden locks to fetch towels in replacement of the wooden comb, but their next task was interrupted when Zelda stood as a Guard Mother entered the room. It was getting easier for her to notice the difference between the two types of mothers. The Guard Mothers wore purple outfits to stand out from the other women of the tribe and their hair was tied into a high bun at the tops of their heads, whereas other, non-ranking Gerudo women wore their hair in braids or loose.

The Blood Mothers wore red outfits, and had their hair in high ponytails, which still flowed easily down to the smalls of their backs. Ganondorf left his hair flowing loosely down, save for the top of his head having six braids tied from his scalp that never tie off, leaving the ends of them to flow down with the rest of his hair, and a golden crown to sit atop the braids that secured them in place. The crown he wore had seven golden spikes jetting out from the base of the crown itself, and strands of gold that met within the middle of his forehead, holding a singular, large ruby in the center. It complimented the earrings he also wore, which were large, golden hoops with a single spiked ruby dangling from the bottoms. The Blood Mothers adored dressing him in the finest jewels and cloths they could find, and often went on scouting missions in the surrounding towns to collect and demand payments in fine items for the King. They fed him only the ripest fruit and meat, offered him the oldest and darkest wines, and dressed him in the finest silks and jewels. It was so much for Zelda to witness, and Impa had told her that she would have to endure the same once she was Queen.

The Guard Mother spoke some sentence in Gerudo, and looked Zelda up and down before making a motion for her to follow. Zelda did so without hesitation, and trailed behind the large woman for quite some time, passing halls with elegantly carved archways into large canopied rooms, under yellow brick archways with waterfalls running down both sides, until finally she entered a room with a red tinted canopy roof, passing under a silky cloth tied out of the way of the arched door, where she stood face to face with Ganondorf’s three Blood Mothers, who were all standing in a line of one another, seemingly waiting for her. The Guard Mother said something in Gerudo before leaving the four, and untied the silk from the doorway, so it hung over the entrance loosely.

“Duk, dani,” The one Zelda assumed to be the oldest said. She pointed to a circle of pillows before them, and Zelda had gathered enough insight from other women telling her to sit to understand that this is what they wanted her to do. So, she stepped forward and lowered herself to be seated on the pillows as the three moved about her. One went off to her left, the other to the right, and Zelda could hear them opening cupboard doors and other various drawers, but she could not look at them as the third had stepped up to her, knelt before her, and took her chin with thumb and forefinger. Zelda dare not turn away from her, not as if she could, the woman had a vice grip on her with two fingers alone, but she knew if she tried it would not be considered kindly. The woman made a thinking noise and ‘hmm’ed aloud, then ‘tisk’d once and let go of Zelda, turning to make some remark to one of the others. The second oldest, or at least Zelda assumed, laughed audibly, and grabbed a fist full of the finest looking silks Zelda had ever laid eyes on, before carrying them over to where she sat.

Without hesitation, the eldest woman followed the second, and pulled a single tie from Zelda’s blush fabric dress from around her neck, and let it drop in her lap in a heap. Zelda could have screamed from embarrassment, but she did not feel threatened by their presence, especially when the third woman came and dropped a few golden trinkets in her lap atop the old dress. The second woman began wrapping a beautiful blue silk around Zelda’s right shoulder, tying it and wrapping it and then looking to the first woman again. She shook her head no, and made a face that Zelda could not quite place, and just like that the second woman was unwrapping the fabric. The third woman had taken to pulling one hand out so Zelda’s arm was straight and placed rings and bracelets of all different metals and gems upon her pale skin. The third woman spoke,

“White,” She said in a thick Gerudo accent, though in common tongue nonetheless. Zelda did not know what to say, so she did not speak. The woman looked to her and laughed, before standing up and walking to her other side, nudging the second woman out of the way as she tried a second silk in a violet color around Zelda’s shoulder now. The first woman seemed to like this one better, and nodded in approval, allowing the second woman to continue wrapping Zelda in this silk.

~

Eventually, they made her stand from the pillows, and the fabric draped down her body and engulfed her in a singular column of violet silk. The first woman ‘tisk’d again, and called to the third woman, who then procured a shining, golden chain belt. There was a symbol in the middle of the belt that closely resembled a bird with its wings spread. At the tips of each of its wings was a pale blue gem in a tear drop shape, and its tail was a heavy, diamond shaped gold piece. It was magnificent. They strew it about her waist, linking the chains together so the fabric draped dress looked more form fitting for her. The third woman finished off her look by adding pale blue, tear drop shaped earrings before stepping back with the other two women and looking her up and down. They all nodded and said what Zelda could only assume were words of approval, and ushered her out of the room, escorting her to meet Impa in the middle of the previous hallway, before the middle of a large arched door in a row of matching ones, which entered into a large, decorated hall of sorts, which multiple colored canopies.

“You look regal,” Impa said at once, hoping to inspire some courage within Zelda, as she was presented to her. Zelda only nodded, and looked into the large room before her, where in the time it took to dress her in silks and jewelry it seemed the vast majority of the Gerudo people had gathered. She swallowed the last bit of fear she had before being escorted by the Blood Mothers to sit at the top of a set of five stairs, each one engraved with what looked to be a story of past Kings, atop yet another set of decorative pillows. Impa sat a stair below her, legs crossed and back straight and dutiful. Impa was well regarded by the Gerudo women for her dutiful character and proved strength, so they liked her well enough to allow her a spot in the high court with Zelda herself, which was comforting.

The rest of the Gerudo women shouted and danced the way of the culture in celebration, eating fruits and drinking wines as they all waited for Ganondorf himself to be made ready. The Blood Mothers left Zelda as she sat, and walked briskly to attend to Ganondorf. It was customary for the wives of Gerudo Kings to be dressed and presented first among the tribe, as no King should have to wait for his bride, it is said. Zelda watched intently at all of the traditional dances the women preformed, and found quite a few of them to be odd to her Hyrulean eyes. She also saw many women not dancing, but instead chatting with other women, and a few appearing to be giving each other polite kisses between bites of fruit or sips of wine, and many in front of other women or among groups. Zelda wondered what exactly the idea behind that was, as she had never seen such a thing within Hyrule. She wondered if it had a different meaning here.

“Customarily, the King will arrive, and there will be a short ceremony between the two of you. Then, there will be festivities, gift bearing, feasting, and then finally-“ Impa cut off, looking up to Zelda from her seat.

“Well…You understand.” She said then, the tips of her pointed ears appearing slightly flushed at the mention. It was strange to ever see Impa flustered at all, let alone around Zelda herself, but she got the feeling this was not out of embarrassment for her sake.

“…Yes,” she said at once,

“I understand.”

After the rather brief ceremony where the elders of the Gerudo sang and chanted praise for the King and his bride, the festivities began where the tribe sang and danced in traditional fashion. Zelda found herself quite flustered by some of the moves, and was very confused when she saw more than a few women partaking in one odd dance. A few presented gifts during the dancing, which was not uncommon, as most wanted to please the King by being the most humble and praising him and his bride before partaking in any self-pleasing activity first. They were generous gifts; aged wines from a town or two over, decorative vases filled with the ripest fruits of the village, a few rolls of silk with decorative beads sewn in a lovely pattern along the border for Zelda, and so on. Ganondorf got some more macabre gifts, Zelda noticed on more than one occasion. As the rest of the tribes started to pour in with gifts, Ganondorf received cuts of the most tender and tastiest parts of prized sand seals and horses, a necklace of Molduga teeth that was so large he could wear it as a belt, and even a few prized bits of Molduga guts from one sister of his tribe, which were extremely rare and dangerous to procure.

One gift was presented to Zelda in a large chest, carried by two large women who set it carefully at her feet, and opened the front locks before her to produce a monstrous amount of colorful silks, and atop them sat three carefully nestled stones shaped like eggs. They were large, and Zelda felt compelled to reach out and touch them, and so she did, picking up one that was a shining azure blue. She looked it over carefully in her hands, and looked back at the two women after a time. Then, in her best Gerudo, she spoke,

“Sarqso, sisters.” The two women nodded, and backed away into the crowd. Zelda placed the stone egg back into the mound of silk, and Impa shut the chest carefully, as she guarded the rest of the gifts with her naginata at her side.

As the rest of the festivities died down, and Zelda had eaten her fill of fruits and meat during the feast, she found she could not stop thinking of the eggs she had been gifted. Impa had warned her they were only stones, as pretty and heavy as they were, but nothing more. Zelda somehow did not believe that, and found that she was excited to enter what she would now call home just so she could observe them further. Forgetting herself for a moment, she found a hand had gripped the upper part of her arm, and she looked up before she could reach the chest to meet Ganondorf’s gaze. He eyed her coldly, and tugged gently at her arm. Zelda was frightened by his intimidating appearance, but noticed how he took care in touching her. She knew that he did not want to hurt her then, and paused to turn her body towards him at once.

“Can you understand me?” She asked.

“No.” The hand moved from her arm to the belt around her waist, tugging the chain until it came loose and fell to the ground with a loud clang.

“Do you know anything I say?”

“No.” The same reply, with the same tone. This time, his hand moved to pull one tie in her silk wrap dress, letting part of it drape off her frame loosely. Zelda shut her eyes for a moment and took a breath, before opening them again and looking him right in the face.

“Is ‘no’ the only word you know?”

“No.” His thick accent hung in the air around her dreadfully. She paused for a moment to prepare for the rest of the night, and then took a breath, beside herself. She would not be afraid, no; this man touched her softly, not demandingly. She would not be afraid of him. She was determined not to be afraid of him. She was the Princess of Hyrule, no, the _Queen_ of Hyrule. She was heir to the Hyrulean throne, and she would not be afraid. This time, before his hand could grab anything else, she grabbed _his_ wrist instead.


End file.
